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Starting Chain

Good Morning from Starting Chain! We’re a social media community of crocheters who love to talk about crocheting and share photos and descriptions of our work. We like to promote crochet with all its wide possibilities for creativity. We love everything from traditional Irish Lace to cutting edge whimsy. We especially like seeing works that are made for charity or for family or friends…and those made by new crocheters.

Crocheters are free to share photos of their own work and comment on the work of others. If you’d like to share your work, just come to the Starting Chain Facebook page and upload a photo. If you used a pattern, please give credit to the pattern creator by giving the name of the pattern and its source. Readers always like hearing about construction details such as type of yarn used and hook size. We love stories of inspiration and gratitude. We love, too, original designs. Creativity is what it is all about!

Here are a few samples of work recently shared with us. We hope they give you some ideas of projects you might want to start yourself.

We’d like to applaud Camilla’s creative design for her dress and we hope that more well-done crocheted garments are soon making fashionable comebacks. One of our favorite needlework publications from the early 1960’s has many pages advertising French patterns for very elegant crocheted suits, dresses and coats. Think “Mad Men style” or a type of tightly crocheted Chanel. As the 60’s went on, crochet in fashion became more loopy, more open, more Bohemian, more “Summer of Love”. We’re ready now to see more wearable pieces, to see dresses again and maybe even some coats.

Thanks, Camilla, for showing us the dress you designed and crocheted. Thanks, too, for sharing a closeup of the back with the button detailing! Camilla has posted several photos of her work on our Facebook page. They’ve been a joy to see.

from: Camilla Grimstad Mollestad: “The back of a dress made from cotton/linnen. My own design.”

from Joy Jewett: “A friend and fellow classmate is undergoing chemotherapy and has recently lost her hair. To show my support, I shaved off my red locks and joined her in the “pink Chrome”…lol! However, I DO live in Alaska and -6 is not “chrome” weather, so I whipped up this hat to cover my head when I go out. I started with a simple chain 4 circle, than added 9 dcs around, joined with ss, ch2, 2 dcs in each stitch, joined, and did this for the next two rows. The next five rows: 2dc in stitch, then 1 dc in stitch, 2 dc, then 1 dc and so on until the join. Next three rows are dc in each stitch. (This gives a wide circle, that later looks like beret). Next two rows are reducing, so its 2 dc, 1 dc, 2 dc, 1 dc to the join. Next two rows are 1 dc in each stitch. Last two rows are finishing rows, I used the double’s yo, but pulled through both (I forget what that’s called) for thick rows. SC to finish, and tuck. It fits floppy, and warm!!”

Thank you, Joy, for showing us your hat. The support you’ve shown for a friend is what makes it even more beautiful. You have inspired others. One commenter, Linda, has said “Thanks for sharing! I will Make these for the gals walking in the Breast Cancer Awareness Walk-a-Thon in January in Jacksonville. Yes, it gets a bit cold in Florida sometimes.”

from: Sonya Blackstone: “”Polly and the Dolls” – Doll set made for my daughter Beautiful Ducklings”

These dolls are delightful to see! They are friends and they are happy. Notice that their skin tones and hair are all a big different and that they are well-dressed. We loved their shoes! Each one has a different kind of shoe: Mary Janes on the left; sneakers on the right. Thank you so much, Sonya, for bringing a smile to us as well!

8 Crochet Projects You Can Make Using Only Single And Double Crochets: Click “Next Page” below!